Ruth Reichl – writer, food memoirist

What (or who) are you most looking forward to at WORD Christchurch?

It’s such an amazing line-up of impressive writers, people I’ve admired for such a long time. But the person I’m most looking forward to meeting is Meg Wolitzer; I’ve read (and loved) everything she’s written, we have many friends in common – including her mother (also a wonderful novelist) – but we’ve never met.

What do you think about libraries?

They’ve saved my life so often, I’m so grateful that they exist. And I’m especially impressed with the way they’ve reshaped their mission in modern times, becoming an important part of the social safety net.